The 1998 Vieux Télégraphe was the leading vote getter in the December Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. I decanted the wine for an hour and served with pizza from a local favorite, Zeeks. Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in the Rhone Valley, was founded in 1898 by Hippolyte Brunier. Located on the highest terrace of the appellation, the…
The December installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on 1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape. As I mentioned in the July installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. I plan on opening the winning bottle on December 29th and publishing an in-depth bottle note on the 31st. The…
The 2005 Lillian Syrah was the leading vote getter in the November Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. The wine originally received a score of 92 points from the Wine Advocate. I decanted the wine for 30 minutes and paired it with a homemade pizza. Maggie Harrison was assistant winemaker to Manfred Krankl of Sine Qua Non for eight years…
The November installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on some of the very best domestic Syrah producers. As I mentioned in the July installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. I plan on opening the winning bottle on December 2nd and publishing an in-depth bottle note on…
The 1997 Cepparello was the leading vote getter in the October installment of Pick My Next Bottle. The wine garnered a score of 96 points from the Wine Spectator and was wine #3 in the Wine Spectator top 100 of 1999. The bottle was decanted for 30 minutes and and paired with homemade pizza. Paolo di Marchi has run Isole…
The October installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on 1997 Super Tuscans (see the July installment for background on this series). I plan on opening the winning bottle on October 25th and publishing an in depth bottle note on the 27th. Back in the late 1990s, 1997 Tuscan wines were widely proclaimed by both producers and reviewers as the…
The 2005 Kosta Browne Gary’s Vineyard Pinot Noir was the leading vote getter in the September installment of Pick My Next Bottle. Kosta Browne began as a dream shared by Dan Kosta and Michael Browne. In the summer of 1997, while working at John Ash & Co. restaurant in Santa Rosa, California, Dan and Michael decided to pool their tips…
The September installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on 2005 California “cult” Pinot Noir (see the July installment for background on this series). I plan on opening the winning bottle on September 29th, and publishing an in depth bottle note on October 1st. The contenders for this month are Rochioli West Block and Williams Selyem Flax Vineyard, both from the Russian River Valley, and Kosta Browne…
Chateau Montelena dates back to 1882 when Albert Tubbs bought 254 acres of property just north of Calistoga. Tubbs planted vines and by 1896 Montelena was the 7th largest winery in California. Winemaking came to an end with the onset of Prohibition. The current iteration of Montelena can be traced to 1968, when Jim Barrett was brought on as a…
The August installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on 1995 California Cabernet Sauvignon (see the July installment for background on this series). I plan on opening the winning bottle on August 25th, and publishing an in depth bottle note on August 27th. 1995 was the third vintage in a string of four exceptional vintages in Napa Valley. James Laube…